Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCl) is a type of virtual computing platform that converges compute, networking, virtualization, and storage into a single software-defined architecture. For instance, a single software application can interact with each of component of hardware and software as well as an underlying operating system. Hyper-converged infrastructures provide enterprises and other organizations with modular and expandable compute, storage, and network resources as well as system backup and recovery. In a hyper-converged infrastructure, compute, storage, and network resources are brought together using preconfigured and integrated hardware.
Since resources in a hyper-converged infrastructure system are pre-configured and highly integrated, replacing a switch in the hyper-converged infrastructure remains problematic. Switches can become overburdened and incapable of handling bandwidth requirements for all hardware connected to the switch. It is difficult to merely swap out a faulty switch with a new switch. For instance, switches in a data center are routinely configured through their lifespan and replacing a switch with another configured the same remains difficult, especially when a device made by one manufacturer is replaced with a device made by a different manufacturer. Additionally, swapping out a switch affects active workloads.